


Matching

by RobinPlaysTrumpet15



Category: Spider-Man (Video Game 2018), Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: M/M, do not copy to another site
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-04
Updated: 2019-11-04
Packaged: 2021-01-23 00:20:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21311011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RobinPlaysTrumpet15/pseuds/RobinPlaysTrumpet15
Summary: Halloween is upon them. It's Harry's first holiday since being cleared by his doctors, and he's determined for it to be perfect. This time a year ago, he was busy and secluded with treatments that no one knew he was going through, and now this year, he plans for everything to be the best Halloween ever. And for once, everything works out perfectly.
Relationships: Harry Osborn/Peter Parker
Comments: 5
Kudos: 66





	Matching

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, look! This is my first Spider-Man fic, and my first time ever working with Parksborn (or either of these characters in the first place). Thankfully (and as usual), my beta reader is in love with this story. So here's hoping that you all like it, too. It was so very refreshing to write this story. Just the characters, the story, everything. This story is very close to my heart. Anyway, thanks for clicking in, I hope you enjoy!

Harry was excited.

Halloween was today, and there was absolutely nothing special about it. It was just a normal day - a normal holiday for spooky vibes and fun costumes and more candy than anyone was really supposed to eat. People would go out and party and kids would trick-or-treat.

Just a normal October 31st.

And Harry was so very ready for it.

See, he’d missed last Halloween. He’d been undergoing treatment, stuck hidden away from everyone. No contact, very little support, precious few people (mostly consisting of his father and doctors) for company.

Though, he supposed that honestly, he was better off having missed it - what with the Demons and the prison break and Doctor Octavious. And Harry’s own father and Sable… Well, all things considered, Harry was a little glad he hadn’t been around for last Halloween. Though he didn’t like that Peter and MJ had to go through it alone. And Miles, too.

But this year, nothing would go wrong. Everything was going to be perfect.

Harry was determined for it to be a good holiday. Everything was planned. Well, mostly. He knew exactly what a perfect day was going to be.

He was going to get up and dress in his costume. (He’d told everyone in the office that they would be allowed to wear costumes today if they wanted to. You know, in the Halloween spirit and everything. There were a lot of brighter faces at that announcement.) Harry would go to the office, make it through the day until he got to leave at five o’clock. He would meet up with Pete at his apartment, and they would hang out for a while and then head to F.E.A.S.T. May had been planning a party there for all the residents and volunteers, and Harry and Peter were really looking forward to it.

It was going to be fun and easy and simple. Harry was going to eat pizza for the first time in way too long and replenish his hidden stash of candy. (His dad and doctor couldn’t know about that. He wasn’t _really_ supposed to be eating candy, but Harry understood the science behind everything he was going through and his treatments, and he knew that some candy every once in awhile wasn’t going to hurt him.)

And he got to spend time with Peter. That was most important. Hopefully MJ and Miles would be there at F.E.A.S.T. too, and if they are, Harry will be ecstatic. But really, if Harry just spent his entire day doing nothing but hanging with Peter, he’d be perfectly happy. (Not that that was possible, mind, but still. A guy could dream.)

When Harry stepped out of his room, he was almost immediately faced with his father.

“Good morning, Harry!” Norman smiled widely at him. It was so different than Harry was used to. His father had been so… strange in the past couple months since Harry had been cleared by his doctor. The man seemed happier, more present. He listened to Harry more and even started asking for his input on decisions to do with the company. (Which made sense since he recently named Harry as the president Oscorp.)

“‘Morning, Dad!” Harry returned the smile, bouncing past the man towards the kitchen.

“What’s your uh- what’s your costume, son?” He asked, following him.

Harry paused in putting an english muffin into the toaster to turn around and show off his outfit. He wore a green long-sleeved shirt that read _SMASH_ in bold, distressed lettering. His jeans were a vaguely purple color. (And god, don’t even get Harry started on how hard it was to find purple-ish jeans without having to resort to the internet.)

“I’m the Hulk!” he declared happily.

Norman’s face became a little pinched, but he nodded and gave Harry another smile.

“That’s great,” he offered belatedly.

Harry returned to making breakfast. “It’s nothing fancy, but I’m not about to go into the office with green paint all over my face or a mask that makes me look ridiculous.”

“Right… About that,” Norman started. “Harry-”

“What?”

“I want you to take the day off.”

“What? Why?”

Harry stared with wide eyes at his father.

“I just- Harry, son. You’ve only been back a little while. You still need time to acclimate and regain your strength. This is the first holiday you’ve been back for, and-” Norman paused, smiling sadly at Harry and placing his hands gently upon his son’s arms, holding him. “I know how much you used to love Halloween.”

Harry smiled back at his father.

“Go on. Take the day off. See your friends, have fun, do whatever. You’re still young.” Norman’s hands squeezed Harry’s biceps reassuringly. “Act like it.”

*

Despite what his father said, Harry still went in to the office. Though he only stayed until noon. Then he pulled his cell out of his pocket and dialed his best friend’s contact.

The line only rang twice before Peter picked up, his voice clear and bright even through the distortion of a phone line.

“Hey, Har!” Peter greeted him. “What’s up?”

“Ah, nothing,” Harry replied, leaning back in his desk chair. He loved to hear Peter’s voice. It always made him smile. “Dad’s just having me take the rest of the day off. You busy?”

“Uhh, a little,” Peter said, his voice muffling for a second as he seemed to shift. “But if you wanted, you could come hang with me at the lab. You’d be better company than all these circuits and wires.”

“Yeah, sure!” Harry agreed readily.

“Cool,” came Peter’s voice. “Hey, listen, I need both my hands for this stupid program that’s not working with me. But come on over and just text me when you’re outside. I’ll come let you in.”

“Great, I’ll see you in a bit.”

“Cool, see you soon.”

Harry ended the call and smiled at his screen for a moment, just looking at Peter’s contact pic they’d taken just a week or so ago. He couldn’t believe just how different he himself looked after going through everything he did. But even Peter looked different than he did this time last year. It was kinda crazy. But Harry thought it was a good different. And crazy wasn’t always so bad anyway.

He jumped from his chair and made his way from the building, pausing briefly by his father’s office to tell him where he was off to. The man waved him off with a good natured _have fun_ and be safe.

With that and a promise to his dad to not be out too late and to call if he needs a ride home, he’s on his way over to Peter’s lab.

*

He gets there and shoots Peter a text, waiting patiently outside the laboratory door. It takes less than a minute for Harry to hear footsteps approaching. Then the knob is turning and the door opens, revealing one Peter Parker, beaming a warm smile at Harry.

“Hey!” Peter says, stepping aside and allowing Harry to step in.

The door is closed behind him and Harry returns Peter’s smile with a grin of his own. His heart does a little somersault in his chest. From a practical standpoint, he didn’t appreciate the reaction, but his feelings didn’t seem to care what his brain thought. His heart was too busy stumbling over how good his best friend looked and how much he enjoyed having those devoted blue eyes aimed at him. And Harry couldn’t find it in him to mind.

He’d been through so much worse than harboring hidden feelings for his best friend. This was almost a walk in the park in comparison.

“Hey,” he finally returns. “So, what’re you working on today?”

Peter’s grin changed into something almost sly and scheming, motioning for Harry to follow him over to a computer.

“You know, Doctor Octavious was really on to something in regards to those prostheses. And they’d do so much good for so many people. I can’t just give them up.” He tapped a few more things into the computer, a complicated code brought up on the screen. Then he turned away and led Harry to another table, this one with several different designs for prosthetic arms and legs.

“Of course,” he continued, “there are quite a few bugs to work out. Otto’s interface was hurting him in the process and changing his brain and… his personality. Obviously, we’d want to avoid all of that.”

He sent a sad, yet vaguely playful sort of grin at Harry who stood close by his side. Harry’s eyes traveled over all the designs, the random equations and problems and notes. He almost couldn’t believe what he was seeing. This was incredible.

“Wow, Peter…” he breathed, amazed. “This is amazing.”

When he turned his eyes back up to the brunette at his side, Peter’s eyes were wide and there was a blush burning up his cheeks. The intensity of the stare had Harry’s insides squirming a little bit. He felt a blush of his own heat up his face and he smiled softly, ducking his head away and looking again at all of Peter’s work on the table.

Soon, Peter went back to his work, speaking out loud and telling Harry about the things he was doing along the way. Harry sat by his side and made helpful comments where he could. This wasn’t quite where Harry’s area of expertise was, but a lot of the circuitry and coding stuff he understood. And even when he didn’t quite understand, he nodded along and listened, learning as they went. Peter’s smile brightened every time he looked to Harry and Harry couldn’t help but let himself relax in the presence of his best friend.

It felt a lot like old times, sitting in the science lab at school, working away at projects that sometimes worked and sometimes didn’t. The thought had Harry smiling even more.

He couldn’t even begin to describe how much he’d missed this while away for treatment.

The day continued on much like that for the next few hours. Then there was one specific problem Peter kept running into, something that wouldn’t allow certain functions to run correctly. Harry watched as Peter’s brow slowly creased into a perplexed, frustrated frown. It was nearly five o’clock and Peter had been laboring over this issue and hitting roadblocks at every turn for over an hour and a half.

Harry had just returned with a cup of water when he heard Peter grown loudly before dropping his head into his hands.

“Pete?” Harry asked, setting the water at the man’s elbow.

“I’m sorry, Harry,” Peter apologized, fingers working into his forehead. “It’s just this stupid error. I can’t find where things started going wrong and now it just seems to keep getting worse…”

Harry frowned at him sympathetically.

“Well, you’ll figure it out,” he assured his friend. “But it is almost five and you told May we’d be at F.E.A.S.T. at 6:30, right? Let’s call it a day and get you all dressed up in your costume.”

Peter spun on his stool to face Harry, letting the other man pull him up to his feet.

“We’ll have a great time, relax a little bit and then who knows? Maybe tomorrow, this thing will have figured itself out. Yeah?” Harry offered with a hopeful smile.

Peter returned it, nodding his head a little bit. Then he shook his head, chuckling and throwing an arm around Harry’s shoulders.

“What would I do without all that optimism, Harry Osborn?”

“Probably lose your damn mind,” Harry teased at him.

Peter’s returning chuckle was just a little tight. An unidentified, sincere look flashed through his eyes that Harry couldn’t quite place. Then he was agreeing calmly and stepping away. A twinge of loss panged through Harry’s chest when the weight of Peter’s arm slid from his shoulders. But Peter was back by his side soon after removing his lab coat and packing up his backpack.

“Ready?” Peter asked.

Harry gave a single nod in response, smiling once again.

They made their way out of the building, heading for Peter’s apartment. They had a brief ride on the subway, and then a couple blocks of walking. On the way, Peter answered a call from MJ. They only spoke for a couple minutes. Peter had relayed to Harry that MJ was just making sure that they would still be at the party that evening.

Once they had arrived, Harry plopped onto the side of Peter’s bed, looking around the small room. It was a typical, small apartment. One room that acted kitchen, bedroom, living room, and dining room, and a separate bathroom. And even though Harry was used to so much space with completely different areas for each room, this seemed a lot homier. Peter seemed comfortable here, and Harry silently agreed.

Perhaps he was biased, but in the past two and a half months since he’d gotten out of treatment, he preferred to spend time with Peter here. Not in the luxury that was the childhood home of his father’s penthouse. Here, in this tiny, cramped apartment that left Harry feeling relaxed and happier than he remembered being in years.

“So is that your costume, Har?” Peter asked, rummaging for costume pieces in his dresser.

Harry looked back at his shirt and purple-ish jeans. He pulled at the hem of his shirt, showing off the lettering across the front.

“Yeah,” he admitted. “I’m the Hulk.”

Peter hummed at him, standing up straight again, a bundle of clothes in the crook of his arm.

“That’s _smashing_, Harry,” he teased.

Harry stuck his tongue out at him, snickering.

“God, that pun was awful.”

“You love me for it!” Peter called back as he shut the bathroom door behind him.

Harry’s heart nearly skipped a beat, another blush creeping up his cheeks again. He knew Peter was kidding. That’s all it was. Friendly banter. But he found himself a little on edge with just how on the nose Peter’s teasing was.

And what if Peter really did know? What if he knew Harry had a crush on him? What if he’d known all along?!

But… But if Peter knew, he would have said something, right? He would have brought it up at some point…

Harry’s saving grace that kept him from spiraling too far was Peter’s smile. Even if Peter did know, he’d never pulled away from Harry - have never treated him differently or poorly. So maybe he knew, and maybe he didn’t. But even if he did, everything was alright.

So Harry stared out the window, unseeing, smiling to himself until Peter emerged from his bathroom again.

Peter came out wearing something very similar to what he’d been wearing all day. He wore black dress pants, a purple button up, and a white lab coat. He’d set a pair of black rimmed glasses on his nose and there was a fake ID badge hanging around his neck.

“Peter…” Harry started, looking the man up and down. “You know Halloween costumes aren’t really meant to be just your normal clothes, right?”

Peter responded to the playful gibe with a shake of his head.

“Whatever…”

“So who are you, Peter?” Harry relented, standing from the bed and standing before his friend.

“I,” Peter started proudly, “am Doctor Bruce Banner.”

Harry paused only a second before he all but snorted and found himself doubling over in a laughing fit. Peter couldn’t help himself from laughing along with Harry, demanding to know what was so funny.

“We-” Harry wheezed, “are such- dorks!”

Peter shoved at Harry, joining in on the laughter. Harry fell back to Peter’s bed, still laughing hard enough for his sides to hurt.

Maybe it wasn’t that funny. Maybe it didn’t quite require this much of a reaction.

But Harry just felt good. And it was so nice to feel good - to be able to just laugh and joke with his best friend without the underlying sense of dread he’d grown so used to. He didn’t have to worry about his health (too much). He didn’t feel like he was forcing himself to smile and laugh and be present. He just was those things.

It had Harry absolutely hysterical with laughter, flying high on Cloud 9.

And with Peter laughing right along with him, nothing could feel better.

It took a minute for the both of them to calm down. Slowly, they ended up together, sprawled across the too-small bed, sore from laughter and breaking into random fits of giggles. Peter ended up on his back, an expression on his face something akin to bliss. And Harry couldn’t help but watch him.

He supposed he should probably have felt weird about just watching his best friend, laying beside each other on a twin bed. But really, who cared? It was just the two of them and Peter didn’t seem bothered. No one else would ever need to know. They would never see. And even if they did, their business was their own. No one else got a say.

They spent half an hour just hanging around the apartment together. Peter brought up some videos on his phone and talked about some of the things that Harry missed in his time away. It was peaceful and good and funny. A couple of the videos were of Spider-Man either doing odd things around the city (like catching pigeons or swinging around a lightning storm) or saving people from Mr. Negative’s Demons and Rikers prisoners.

Man, that guy had been busy. Not for the first time, Harry wondered who he was and what kind of life he lived that allowed him to run around like that.

He said as much to Peter.

Peter gave a non-committal hum. “Who knows? Could be anyone under there.”

Harry supposed he had a point.

They left with enough time to get to F.E.A.S.T. early and help May set up for the party. Their destination was only a block away when they heard gunshots from somewhere nearby. The shots were immediately followed by screams and people picking up their pace, rushing away from the sound.

Peter perked up immediately, pausing mid-step.

He laid a hand on Harry’s shoulder, stopping him.

“Hey, uh, I just remembered I forgot something at the apartment. You head on over and tell May I’ll be there soon. Okay?” Peter said, beginning to step back the way they’d come.

“What?” Harry asked. “But, Pete- Didn’t you hear the-?”

“It’ll be fine. I can take care of myself, you know that.” Peter fixed him with a reassuring smile that didn’t do much to calm Harry’s nerves. “I’ll be there soon. Promise.”

He didn’t wait for a response before he was turning and jogging down the sidewalk, dodging people as he went.

Harry couldn’t ignore the uncomfortable twisting in his stomach or the nervous tightening in his chest. He didn’t want to see Peter go. Not when they’d just heard those gunshots. He knew Peter was capable of walking the streets of New York on his own. They’d been doing it since they were teens. But… no. This was different. Wasn’t it?

But Harry had lost sight of him and he figured his best bet was to get Aunt May on his side.

He turned around and nearly sprinted down the street. His pace only quickened when the building came into sight.

Harry pushed through the front doors, hurrying inside and up the stairs towards Mrs. Parker’s office. Thankfully, he found the woman sitting there at her desk, writing on some papers before her.

“Mrs. Parker!”

She looked up, a pleasant smile gracing her features as she laid eyes on her almost nephew. She’d been saying for years that Harry was as much hers as Peter was.

“Harry! So good to see you, dear.” She stood up from her chair and stepped forward to embrace the young man. “You’re here early. Is Peter with you?”

“Uh, no, Mrs. Parker. I wanted to talk to you about that…”

The woman fixed Harry with a searching gaze.

“What’s wrong?”

“We were almost here when we heard gunshots. Peter told me he left something at his apartment and went back for it… We need to do something before he gets hurt.”

Harry watched as May’s face went from confused to understanding. Then the expression morphed into something calm and unconcerned.

“Oh, you know Peter, dear,” she said, stepping away again and tidying up her desk. “He’d lose his head if it wasn’t attached to his shoulders. I’m sure he’ll be fine.”

This struck Harry as odd. Aunt May wasn’t concerned that Peter ran off in the direction of gunshots? Something clearly not safe?

Had the world gone mad in the year he’d been gone?

All evidence seemed to point towards yes. Harry’s father acted like a father (which was a nice change but so very different from memory). Harry himself was harboring more than friendly feelings for his best friend (which wasn’t abnormal, it was just weird how okay with it he honestly felt). And Aunt May wasn’t worried about Peter putting himself in danger again.

Harry decided he’d have to keep an eye on MJ to see if he’d accidentally ended up in an alternate dimension or not. If she was acting different, well… He didn’t know what he’d do then.

Reluctantly, he followed May back out of the office and let her go about giving him instructions for setup. A few of the men and women who lived there greeted him with smiles and the like. Some of them had even begun to adorn costumes for the party, which brought a smile to his face. Though they could tell he was distracted.

One of the older guys, Marcus, stopped him in the middle of taping up streamers.

“What’s got you so far away, kid?” he asked roughly. He fixed Harry with a piercing eye.

Marcus seemed a gruff man on the surface, and he generally was, but he did really care about others. He also had a soft spot for Peter especially, and had taken a liking to Harry after Peter had dragged him along for the first time a month ago.

Harry shrugged noncommittally. “It’s nothing… Just-”

“Just what?”

Harry huffed a sigh. “Peter. He’s just so…”

“Boy run off outta the blue again?” Marcus guessed with a knowing look.

Harry’s shoulders dropped in something like relief. Someone else noticed it, too. Sure, Peter had been doing this for years, and there were times he always seemed to find himself where the “action” (read: danger) was. Of course, Harry had always chalked that up to his photographer job at the Daily Bugle, but since he’d quit…

“Yeah.” He nodded.

Marcus shook his head and rolled his eyes.

“That boy’s really got a knack for trouble,” he griped. “But he’s a good kid. Wouldn’t worry too much. He does this often, but he always comes back.”

Harry nodded listlessly. He stared into space for a moment before physically shaking himself. He still had things to do for Aunt May. Better to get back to work.

Marcus headed off after Harry was done with the streamers, confident that his job of making sure Harry didn’t fall off the chair was finished.

Harry continued on like that for close to half an hour when he heard quick footfalls and a familiar voice behind him.

He turned, finding Peter approaching. He was smiling, but he looked a little winded, as if he’d run all the way back here.

“Sorry about that,” he apologized.

“Did you get it?” Harry asked, almost forgetting to return the man’s smile.

“What?” he asked. “Oh! Yeah, I did. Dropped it in May’s office. Remind me to grab it after?”

Harry nodded.

“Come on, Mr. Forgetful, I think your aunt might still have stuff for us to do before this thing gets under way.” Harry teased. He threw an arm around Peter’s shoulders and rubbed his knuckles playfully into his hair. Peter pushed him off easily, his grin widening and laughing softly. They walked side-by-side back towards the kitchen.

“Hey, Mrs. Parker!” Harry called, catching the woman’s attention. “Look who finally decided to show up!”

She turned and beamed at the two of them. Miles and MJ stood on either side of her.

“Wonderful! Miles and MJ just got here, too.” She hugged Peter tightly, holding onto him for just a moment longer than usual. Then she stepped away again and looked around.

“Well, with the exception of setting the last of the food out on the tables, there’s nothing else to do. So let’s turn on the music and get this Halloween Bash started!”

They all cheered a little. Peter helped set out the food with MJ while Harry went with Miles to set up the sound system. May had been at a complete loss with it. But within a couple minutes, it was all sorted and Harry had a YouTube Mix of “Halloween Party Music” playing. Hopefully the selections wouldn’t be too bad. There was nothing worse than a party without good music.

“So Harry,” Miles said on their way to meet up with MJ and Peter.

“So Miles,” Harry countered teasingly.

“What is your costume supposed to be?”

He sputtered, mock offended. “What? It’s not obvious?”

Miles snorted. “It’s obvious you’re wearing Hulk merchandise. Not a costume.”

Harry burst into a fit of laughter.

“Okay, fine. I didn’t put a whole lot of effort into my costume this year,” he admitted. “But listen, I was more concerned with just celebrating and enjoying the moment. I didn’t think too hard about a costume.”

Miles’ own laughter tapered off, a sad look tingeing his smile.

“No no no,” Harry said, waving him off. “No one is going to look at me like that. It’s fine. I’m fine. Everything’s fine. So don’t give me that look Miles Morales.”

The look was gone just like that. Miles held his hands up in surrender, a smirk painting his features. Only then did Harry notice the face paint on the teen’s face. There was black smudged around his eyes and red trails at the corners of his mouth. Which made sense since his costume was clearly a vampire.

“Alright, alright,” he conceded. “You got me.”

Harry faced forward again, triumphant. They walked in silence for a few steps.

“And besides,” Harry started suddenly. “Do you know how much effort it takes to find purple-ish jeans? A lot.”

Miles was cracking up at that.

*

The party was in full swing. It was relegated mostly to the dining area and upstairs where a couple of rooms had been designated for games and activities so that those who didn’t wish to participate wouldn’t have to give up their sleeping quarters. It bled out the doors a little bit, but May was sure to keep it in check so as not to bother anyone else. She directed people back towards the food and games, dressed in a sweater covered in safety-pinned Beanie Baby cats as The Cat Lady, any time they got to be a bit much. But it didn’t happen too often. Everyone looked to be having a good time.

MJ, who was dressed up in bright neon colors and makeup with big, teased-out hair like an 80s pop star, had gotten an absolute kick out of the fact that Peter and Harry had both dressed up as basically the same guy. She had laughed for a solid minute and a half at them and was teasing them about their “matching” costumes at any chance she got.

Neither of them could find it in them to be annoyed about it either. It wasn’t like she was wrong. They had been the ones to laugh at themselves about it first. 

So the four of them laughed their way through the evening. May joined them every so often, as would others, including Marcus and Hellen and CJ. They attempted at first to join in on some of the activities and games, but that fell through rather quickly. Harry and Peter had competed against one another at bobbing for apples, and that ended with Peter winning by a mile and Harry just in a soaked green shirt. They laughed about that, too, but Harry ended up too cold for comfort.

Then there had been Mummy Races. Each team had to wrap up a teammate in toilet paper to become the mummy and then they had to make it through an obstacle course and whoever finished first won. Harry had been up against Miles for that one. It ended in Harry tripping over an obstacle and crashing to the floor in a heap of toilet paper. The race had been called off when his friends and several other people came rushing forward to make sure he was alright.

Peter had all but thrown himself to the floor beside Harry to check him for injuries before he’d noticed his friend’s hysterical laughter. He looked all nervous and concerned, hands hovering in the air as if ready to catch Harry. But he joined in on the man’s laughter after a couple of nerve-wracking seconds. Still, he checked on Harry periodically for the next half hour or so to make sure he wasn’t hurt.

They gave up on the games after that. May didn’t seem offended at all.

So they stood near-ish a corner of the dining room, chatting and joking and laughing. Just generally enjoying one another’s company. It was everything Harry could have hoped it would be.

The music had turned out to be perfect, and that was definitely helping. Sometimes you just never knew with playlists on YouTube, but this time they’d lucked out.

Peter stayed at Harry’s side pretty much the entire night. They stood close enough that Harry was almost certain he could feel Pete’s body heat, though that was a little ridiculous. The thought just had him flushing like a schoolgirl. Thankfully no one else commented. (Thank you, dimmed Halloween party lighting.)

It was just after 9:30 when Miles got a text from his mom. She was there to pick him up.

“Gotta go, guys,” he’d said, slipping his phone back into his pocket and draining the soda in his cup. “Mom’s outside and I still got school tomorrow.”

“Okay,” MJ had said for them all. “See you later, Miles.”

“Yeah, bye, Miles.” Harry smiled at him.

“Remember we got tutoring tomorrow afternoon, okay?” Peter said as Miles retreated towards the front.

“Got it, Pete! Later!”

Then it was just the three of them.

Within the hour, the party had begun winding down. Quite a few of those who lived at F.E.A.S.T. had retreated to the common area and their beds, ready to sleep for the night. Plenty were still up and happy to continue on their spooky celebrations though. But May had nearly reached her limit for the night.

Peter had caught her yawning excessively as she attempted to clean up some of the leftover food. He’d waved her off the task, telling her to go home and get some sleep. It had taken a little convincing on their part, but the woman had finally relented and left them with a short list of things to do before the party could be considered over.

Streamers could be taken down the next day by the volunteers, but Peter, Harry, MJ, and a few others set about putting away food and cleaning up the games upstairs. It didn’t take too long. Many hands make for light work.

MJ headed off just after 11. She hugged them both goodnight and made them promise not to stay out too late.

And Harry found himself alone with Peter again.

The music was still playing softly, having been turned down long ago. There were only three or four people still up and about, but that was pretty normal around here. There were always a few people who didn’t sleep well or couldn’t get to sleep until late or had crazy work schedules. It happened.

But for all intents and purposes, it was just them.

They stood, sipping at their drinks, talking about everything and nothing. They talked about how Harry was doing with the company, how tutoring was going for Miles and Peter, some of MJ’s latest stories. It was all just the kind of conversation that Harry wouldn’t really remember later. He’d cherish the time he spent with his best friend, his crush, but the topics would flee his memory. What he’d remember would be Peter’s smile, the fleeting glances and looks from behind fake glasses he didn’t need.

Harry remembered when Peter had actually needed glasses. The last time he’d seen Peter in glasses had been years ago, in sophomore year of high school. They’d just disappeared one day and he seemed fine without them. He had claimed he’d gotten laser eye surgery with money from the prize he’d won.

Peter looked good in these fake glasses, Harry decided silently.

Their laughter trailed off into contented silence in the wake of some joke one of them had told. Harry noticed suddenly that they had drifted closer together, standing in one another’s space. Peter was turned towards Harry, one shoulder just barely leaned into the wall behind them. His eyes on Harry held a familiar intensity - one Harry recognized with little effort.

It was all soft and tender, something that fanned at the heat in Harry’s chest. The fuzzy feeling there swelled until his lungs felt tight. He felt heavy with it, but like he could float. Float and fly and swing around the city like he was Spider-Man.

“Harry…” Peter breathed. He was leaning closer, suddenly. Or maybe it wasn’t sudden. Maybe they’d been getting closer and closer for awhile now.

He was so close Harry thought he might start going cross eyed soon.

“Pete,” he sighed back, still staring widely at the other man.

Peter hesitated just a moment, his eyes flicking back and forth, searching Harry’s eyes. Harry hoped he would find what it was he was looking for.

The world seemed to slow down and speed up all at once. Peter leaned further forward, closing the few inches between them. Their lips met with no pomp and circumstance. It started as a soft brush of lips, pressing together gently. They stilled together a second, close and just breathing. A wave of contentment rolled down Harry’s spine.

Their lips parted less than a split second before Peter pressed them into another kiss, the second one just as tender as the first.

The red feeling swelled further, completely engulfing Harry this time and spreading out from him, encasing the two of them in a world all their own.

It took almost no time, but Harry was sure they’d stood there at least an hour. Then the kiss was breaking with a soft sound and Peter was pulling back. Harry found his eyes fluttering open to blink almost owlishly at the man in front of him. He wasn’t even sure when he’d shut his eyes in the first place.

Harry almost expected the world to be changed, somehow. He expected Peter to look different. But he didn’t. He was still just Peter, smiling at Harry with that look in his eyes. A look Harry knew. The one that spoke of the red, fuzzy, pillow-soft feeling in his chest. And the room was the same too. Just the dining room of F.E.A.S.T. that was oh so familiar.

Harry swallowed, his fingers tightening on Peter’s coat sleeve unconsciously.

“Do you think this place can fend for itself for the night?” he whispered, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

Peter’s huffed chuckle spoke volumes. He smiles warmly at Harry again.

“Yeah, I think they can.”

“Okay.”

They tossed their plastic cups in the trash on their way out, Peter sure to have the doors locked as was protocol.

“Back to mine?” Peter offered just outside, on the steps.

“Please,” Harry agreed.

Peter’s beaming smile was everything. Their fingers tangled together and Peter pulled Harry along down the street. Their walk back was uneventful. They filled it with laughter and teasing and jokes. Nothing much changed, other than the hand holding. It was just as it had been before. But this time, it was so much better - so much more.

Peter let them in to the matchbox sized apartment and they stepped inside, closing the door and locking it behind them.

They hesitated only a moment, giving and receiving a couple of shy smiles. Then Peter was taking a step forward again, and Harry was meeting him, his hands on his best friend’s shoulders. Harry started it this time, closing the distance between them and pressing a kiss to Peter’s lips. It wasn’t a soft this time, but it was just as gentle. It had more force behind it, and it had Peter’s lips pulling into a smile against Harry’s mouth.

“Can I stay?” Harry mumbled against Peter’s mouth.

Peter laughed. “I’d be offended if you wanted to leave.”

Harry laughed too.

It took no time for them to change into sleep clothes. Harry borrowed some from Peter - a t-shirt from ESU that he was sure he had a twin of somewhere and a pair of worn, soft grey sweats. They laid, side-by-side, on Peter’s bed, watching videos on YouTube for some time. Then Harry couldn’t keep himself from yawning every few seconds. It was late for him, honestly. He hadn’t been able to stay up too late since treatment ended. But this was such a good reason to stay up.

“You gotta sleep, Har,” Peter needled at him, nuzzling his nose against Harry’s cheek.

“Maybe I don’t wanna,” he countered, eyes taking too long to blink. They stayed shut instead of opening again. He yawned, curling in towards Peter’s warmth. Man, this guy ran hot.

He could hear Peter chuckle at him.

Peter shuffled around a little, putting his phone up on the shelf to charge and wrapping an arm around Harry’s back.

“I’ll still be here when you wake up, Har…” he said lowly. “Promise.”

Harry fell asleep with his head tucked under Peter’s chin.

His lungs didn’t feel so tight anymore. He just felt good, sleepy, and perfectly content. Nothing could have been better than this - healthy and whole, held in the arms of the man he was best friends with, in love with.

And knowing he was loved by him, too.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, guys! I really hope you liked this story. Please let me know what you thought, kudos and comments are always appreciated. Happy (late) Halloween!


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